Footnotes

¹ Wage-loss supplements refer to benefits that compensate for temporary or permanent loss of earning capacity resulting from compensable work restrictions. These benefits are typically paid monthly after medical plateau, when a worker’s restrictions and residual disability prevent a return to pre-accident employment, and their actual or estimated earning capacity is reduced as a result.

As a Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist, I reviewed and approved these wage‑loss supplement proposals prepared by case management—assessing both the suitability of the proposed job goal and the validity of the earning‑capacity estimate. When a worker had not yet secured post‑accident employment, WCB would often estimate (or “deem”) earnings based on the expected income associated with the proposed job goal. One of the most critical aspects of my role was determining whether this deemed occupation aligned with the worker’s restrictions, education, transferable skills, and labour‑market access—and whether it reasonably reflected their long‑term earning capacity.

Even when a worker was employed, part of the process involved ruling out underemployment (e.g., working below capacity due to unresolved barriers) before finalizing any earnings-loss estimate. This process is governed by WCB Policy 04‑04, Part II, Application 1 – Determining Impairment of Earning Capacity, which explicitly allows WCB to use estimated earnings when a worker is unemployed or underemployed after all reasonable vocational supports and job‑search efforts have been provided. The policy requires that the estimated earning capacity be based on suitable employment compatible with the worker’s restrictions and reasonably available in the local labour market, typically using wage data from sources such as ALIS occupational profiles.

The wage-loss supplement types include:

• Temporary Partial Disability (TPD): An informal term commonly used to describe monthly wage-loss payments issued after medical plateau but before vocational plateau, when a worker’s long-term earning capacity has not yet been fully assessed. These payments are calculated monthly and serve as a provisional wage-loss supplement while entitlement to an ELP or TEL is being determined.

  Not to be confused with temporary partial disability benefits paid biweekly during medical recovery, which are governed under WCB Policy 04-02, Part I. Although both types of benefits fall under the same overarching policy framework, the monthly TPD described here is functionally distinct—typically issued after medical stabilization but prior to final vocational determination, and procedurally treated as a wage-loss supplement under Policy 04-02, Part II. In rare cases, similar payments may also be issued post-vocational plateau where ongoing uncertainty remains about employability or earnings capacity.

• Temporary Economic Loss (TEL): A benefit of moderate duration awarded when post-accident earning capacity is expected to recover within six years; effective January 1, 1995.

• Economic Loss Payment (ELP): A long-term benefit awarded when permanent restrictions reduce post-accident earning capacity for a period anticipated to exceed six years; effective January 1, 1995.

• Earnings Loss Supplement (ELS): A top-up for pre-1995 PPD pensions, awarded when the pension does not fully compensate for the ongoing loss of earning capacity caused by the compensable injury.

Permanent disability awards (pensions) applied only to claims with a date of accident before January 1, 1995. A PPD pension compensated for a worker’s permanent clinical impairment (PCI) and the presumed long-term loss of earning capacity resulting from that impairment, including any related work limitations. A PTD pension, by contrast, provided full disability compensation, typically 90% of the worker’s annual net earnings, payable for life unless revised due to a change in condition or fraud.

For accidents occurring on or after January 1, 1995, pensions were discontinued. Permanent disability benefits are now provided through a non-economic loss payment (NELP) and/or an economic loss payment (ELP). Although pensions no longer apply, PTD status can still be granted on post-1995 claims. While it no longer results in a lifetime pension, it can entitle the worker to a full-lifetime ELP at the full disability level and exempt the claim from retirement-related reductions, provided the criteria are met.

Historically, PTD determinations were more flexible. WCB considered the PCI rating, the worker’s employability, and whether the injury was comparable in severity to the presumptive conditions listed in the Act. Because the Workers’ Compensation Act does not define “permanent total disability,” this left considerable room for interpretation.

In February 2024, WCB’s Board of Directors acknowledged this gap and approved adding a clear PTD definition to policy. The stated goal was to improve consistency and transparency while ensuring that workers with catastrophic injuries outside the statutory presumptions could still access lifetime support where warranted.

In January 2025, WCB implemented the change in Policy 04-04. The new definition established that PTD applies to workers with:

• a presumptive injury under s. 43(2);

• a 100% PCI; or

• a PCI between 75% and 99% combined with incapacity for employment.

By February 2025, the policy was refined further. The phrase “permanently incapable of participating in employment” was redefined to mean that a worker’s limitations must be so severe and enduring that stable employment does not exist for them in the general labour market, and that they cannot perform work tasks or activities of daily living without significant supervision. This revision refined the criteria for PTD entitlement, introducing clearer parameters intended to support consistent application, while also narrowing the range of circumstances under which PTD status may be recognized.

² WCB Policy 04-07, Part I defines severe injuries as including spinal cord injuries, severe burns, moderate to severe brain injuries, major amputations, significant respiratory conditions, total loss of vision, terminal cancers, bilateral arm or leg fractures, and other injuries of comparable severity.

WCB Policy 04-10, Part I defines serious injuries as including rotator cuff tears, ruptured discs, severe ankle or wrist fractures, severe knee injuries (e.g., torn ACL), and other injuries of similar severity. Most soft tissue injuries are not considered serious unless unusually severe.

³ s. 43(2) of the WCA presumes PTD in cases where a worker has sustained:
(a) total and permanent loss of sight in both eyes;
(b) loss of both feet at or above the ankle;
(c) loss of both hands at or above the wrist;
(d) loss of one hand at or above the wrist and one foot at or above the ankle;
(e) injury to the spine resulting in permanent and complete paralysis of both legs, both arms, or one leg and one arm; or
(f) injury to the central nervous system resulting in mental incompetence rendering the worker incapable of being gainfully employed.